Turn A Blind Eye
by Elliniest
Summary: Seven years after the events in Leading the Blind. Voted the safest city in the state, Jump City's crime scene had never been abolished, it just buried itself deeper underground. A little piece of Gotham had been growing right under the Titans' noses. Someone is two steps ahead of the Titans, and nothing scared Nightwing more.
1. Chapter 1: Something old, something new

**Author Note:** This is the sequel to Leading the Blind. I suggest to go read that trash I wrote almost two years ago. It has poor grammar and my loss of will to write is evident with each chapter. Apparently people liked it and it had a strong following even though it took me two years to write. For those who stuck by Leading the Blind, thank you. I would have never finished it without you. This is un-beta read, and I try my best but there us bound to be mistakes.

The story starts about seven years after Leading the Blind. There ages are roughly:

Nightwing: 26

Raven: 25

Starfire: 25

Beast Boy: 24

Cyborg: 27

* * *

The soft sound of laughter is what woke Nightwing.

Nightwing blinked once then twice before peeling himself from his dry drool covered keyboard. He took a moment to blink away sleep, rubbing the keyboard marks from his face. It was the third time this month he had falling asleep at the computer. Why? He wasn't sure why. Crime rate had been the same for _years_. Yet he finds himself in front of the computer every night looking at clues after clues.

The computer was still booted up and he had slept in superhero gear. Taking a whiff of his armpit he stuttered a breath. The smell is pungent, a weird mixture of onions and musk. He never suspecting to sweat that much during sleep, but in hindsight, sleeping in kevlar armor wasn't the smartest idea. Shower, shower seems like a good idea.

He leaned over the computer, finger hovering over the power off button only to hesitate. It was technically still early in the morning and having one last look wouldn't hurt.

Nightwing shook the mouse to wake up the computer from its hibernation. The screen lit up and he types in the long coded password. Long strings of names, locations and comments appeared on the screen. Nightwing stared at each line of information, looking for anything new that may have popped up during his nap. There were lists of planned robberies and small time crooks intel that the police could easily handle.

No point on sending his team.

With one click he sent it over to Jump City's police force. He looked at the remainder, eyes fixed over locations, names, and descriptions to find anything worthwhile. Anything thrilling, to an overly calm city. Sorting through nonsense he reads:

 _Dr. Light seen in Pier 2 at 3:13 am, Sunday._

 _Zookeeper last seen between second and first. 2:20 am, red duffle bag at hand._

 _Black Mask-_

Nightwing freezed; Black Mask was not a Jump City villain. Black Mask ran a gun and drug cartel that was heavy embedded in Gotham. Nightwing frowned and continued to read over the words displayed in front of him:

 _Black Mask activity halted._

Nightwing blinked, eyes scanning the short message again and again. Black Masks is one of the hardest hitting villains in Gotham. His trade ran deep into Gotham. All into the veins of the rich and poor. Batman had tried desperately to halt his activity, take down the entire cartel. Yet no matter how often Batman placed Black Mask's associates in jail or Black Mask himself, dirty money always got them out. Had Black Mask activities been running through Jump City right under his nose only for it to be halted now?

The door slid open, and Nightwing took a look at the clock. Five in the morning and she was already awake. Maybe she sensed his panic or something within their bond told her to be by his side right now. Nightwing placed the thought as wishful thinking. She isn't here for him. She was here for information because it is _her_ intelligence network.

A network was build on shady characters willing to turn a new leaf. A virtue Raven respected. The Titans offered them protection for the price of information. It was a small way to right their wrong when they were way too deep to find a way out. Most stayed for the sense of gratification but some because of their unjustified fear of Raven. Whatever kept them in the gray area of the law.

Raven footsteps echoed across the empty computer room. Nightwing looked behind him for a moment only to look back at the computer to stop himself from staring. Yet that is already too late, he burned her form to his memory. Her face flushed from the hot shower a contrast to her now porcelain white skin and wet dark almost black purple hair. He bit his lip as she doesn't speak a word, not even a 'morning', before hovering over him, her wet long wet strands of dark purple hair covering his view.

"Black Mask." Her jaw tensed as a slow hum left her lips. "Why are we getting intel on Black Mask?" Raven whispered as she took the mouse from Nightwings hands.

"Which one of your little birds called it in?" Nightwing asked, pushing himself away from the keyboard to give her space.

Raven's body tensed for a moment, and it's almost unrecognizable if he didn't know her so darn well. He thought the name was cute and endearing, but she hated when he called her Intel network 'little birds'. There were reasons, which to him, made no sense. Reasons she refused to elaborate on because they weren't the real reasons. He shook the thought away. That was not a can of worms he wanted to open again.

"It's blank, anonymous." Raven said before sighing and standing up.

"Anonymous?" Nightwing rolled himself close to computer eyes searching the data stream. "That's I'm—"

Raven shook her head, "The deal is they give us information and we keep them safe." Raven tapped her foot, the sound echoing inside the room. "Cyborg placed the anonymous feature encase the mole thought he was being tracked. "

"Information second, well being first" Nightwing muttered the rules under his breath.

His eyes glanced over the strings of information. Black Mask in Jump City spelled trouble. This felt like a little piece of Gotham had followed him back. The revelation was far from endearing— any piece of Gotham was far from a souvenir. It crossed his mind that the actual words are less significant and more of a warning. It isn't something new or unique for words to be littered in code.

"I know that look in your eye." Raven muttered and Nightwing turned to the sound of her voice.

Nightwing looked at her blue eyes, the color no longer purple ever since the accident seven years ago. They always seem to bring a pang of guilt even after all these years. He opts to smile at her instead of letting that feeling consume him. "I don't know—"

Raven bared a scowl before leaning down to rip the mask from his face.

"This is not becoming your new obsession." Raven warned him; dropping his mask on the keyboard.

Nightwing rubbed his face trying to soothe his skin. He wished she didn't know him so damn well. She looked at him and he knows there is a secret conversation forming in her head. Again he is stuck wishing their 'bond' was a two way street. If he could only catch a glimpse on what she thought or what she _felt_. Oh, how he would spend the entire Wayne fortune on that opportunity.

Maybe he was prying without his knowledge but she gave him a warning look. She rolled her eyes away from him and he quickly missed the attention. Nightwing bit his tongue to remember to hold back. He done such a splendid job the last two years, he can keep this up.

She shook her head before turning on her heel to leave.

"I'll gather the others" Raven said before looking over her shoulder and throwing him back his mask. "Also you should take a shower. You smell like a men's locker room."

* * *

"Nightwing! Prysm sick and she keeps—"

A-CHOO!

A green beam flew across scorching the wall next to Nightwing. Prysm sniffled, rubbed and wiggled her nose. Her eyes quickly shift to Nightwing, then back to the space between her feet.

Nightwing stared at the blackened wall. Running a team of super powered teenagers _again_ , what was he thinking? It wanted to pass down his experience, he said. A new Teen Titan section to their Titan operation would help steer teenagers into the right direction, he pitched. Nightwing doesn't regret the decision, not one bit.

However, there is some sickly sense of exhaustion associated with managing superpowered teens. When he imagined the future, it wasn't really this. He never imagine just how many people would be floating with super powers, or have some really rich eccentric mentors. They could only live under the shadow of someone for so long though; a concept he understood. That's why he was no longer Robin, but Nightwing. A hero in his own respect. If he could do that, why not guide others to do the same?

Which lead to a transition. Transferring the name Teen Titans to a younger group more true to the name, and creating The Titans. Which was stressful within itself, having to obtain more backing from the Justice League. At least he had the backing of his team, well, _most_ of his team.

"We should have some medicine in the medical bay." Nightwing sighed, rubbing the sides of his mask as a nervous tendency. "Flu season already?"

"Dude, there has been like three people sick in the last week." Changeling shouted from the kitchen his eyes scanning the fridge.

Nightwing gave Changeling a face, surprised that already three people have fallen ill.

Changeling had changed over the years. He was more level headed, and grew to be a great strategist. Raven credited the change to herself, teaching him chess years ago. The Changeling refuted the comment, but everyone knew he had oddly became scary good at a game he onced called 'kings, chicks and ponies'. He was a couple of inches taller than Nightwing now, no longer the runt of the litter, with an acrobat physique. He still had his sense of humor much to Raven's misery.

"Gosh darn it, who ate all the vegemite?" Changeling grumbled closing the refrigerator door.

Prysm gave a shy sniffle, wrapping her scarf a little tighter. Suddenly her eyes dart behind Nightwing, and she took a moment to stand a little straighter. Nightwing looked behind him to catch a glimpse of Raven with her arms crossed.

She walked past Nightwing, pressing the back of her hand to Prysm's forehead. "You are warmer than usual." Raven pulled down the hood of her cloak "Zachary take Prysm to the medical bay."

Zachary Zatara raised from the couch with a groan but besides that, there is a little resistance. Nightwing watched the subtle roll of his eyes and decides to ignore it. Zachary isn't the 'go out of his way to help others' type. Zachary wasn't much of a team player either. He was a heavy contrast to his cousin, which he bet was the only reason Zachary was in the Teen Titans.

Zachary shrugged, walking up to Raven's side. "Can't ya just fix it. You know with a little-" Zachary points to Prysm's head and made a buzzing noise.

Oh, he also seemed to have a slight fixation with Raven, much to Nightwing's agitation.

The empath shook her head while rolling her eyes at Zachary. "Not everything can be fixed with magic. Some T.L.C and medicine will do fine."

Prysm looked at Raven, shoulders raised and hands tightly folded in front of her. Prysm sniffled, taking a moment to look at Zachary. Zachary walked around Raven to her left, one finger taking a moment to twirl the ends of her hair. Raven glared, and Nightwing noted the small glint in Zachary eyes as the dark strands slides off his finger.

"With practice, magic can fix anything." Zachary smiled a spark of magic trickling from his white glove.

"Med Bay, now." Raven commanded ignoring his comment.

Zachary shrugged, folding his arms over his chest. "You heard the boss. Let's go Prysm"

Prysm sniffled, her nose twitching to hold in a sneeze. Zachary moved her along, walking behind her heels. Nightwing watched them, noticing Zachary whispering, 'don't you dare get me sick', under his breath.

Starfire passed by Zachary and Prysm in the hall before walking up to Nightwing. She flashed her old friends a smile and wrapped her arms around Raven shoulders. The empath becomes rigid at the contact but quickly relaxes. The alien giggled in response.

"Are the teams all assigned?" The Tamaranean asked, removing herself from Raven.

"Yes, but I am concerned-" Raven mumbled but Starfire quickly cuts in.

"We can not hold their hand forever. Have faith on the new generation." Starfire interjected before standing near Nightwing, giving him a smirk and nod.

The alien stood in the middle of the room, her eyes mentally counting their wards. The Tamaranean was still the same, dropping her special Tamaranean vernacular from her speech pattern years ago. Her beauty was unearthly, her hair long red strands ending in a fiery wisp.

Starfire clapped her hands, and the room fell silent. The alien turned to Nightwing giving him a cheeky smile. "All you, fearless leader."

Nightwing cleared his throat. "We have your assignments for today. You will be split into groups: blue and gold team. Your group members will not be the same as your previous assignment, but as always you are expected to work as a team."

All the Teen Titans groaned. Nightwing rolled his eyes.

Raven spook up, "Team is as followed: Blue team: Red Robin, Kid Devil, Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle"

Red Robin stirred from the couch, coffee mug in his hand, eyes blinking away sleep. It seemed to be a characteristic "I lived with Batman" habit.

"Gold Team: Zatara, Aqualad, Static, Pry-"Nightwing stopped and looked at Garfield shake his head violently.

"Uh, then I guess it's just Zatara, Static and Aqualad" Starfire shrugged.

"Now you probably all wondering, who is the team leader for this mission. There isn't one. The focus is to try to learn to compromise. I notice some of you have strong personalities. Leaders are there to make final decisions taking the considerations and comments of their teammates. They aren't there to tell everyone what to do." Nightwing explained.

"Now, we will be infiltrating the Wildebeest Society. The society has multiple members, which all have access to the super one commits the crime, while the others undermine the operation. We will be infiltration what intel tells us is their base of operation."

"Each team will go through different entry points. Blue team, you will be dropped southwest access point, while the gold team will enter via the submarine dock." Raven added.

"So you gonna sit back and just watch us do the dirty work?" Zachary called from behind, as he re-entered the room.

"Huh, yesterday I heard the complaint that we were giving you guys the kiddy missions." Raven glared at Zachary. "Now you are saying we are lazy. I guess we can be hard on them Nightwing, or not hard enough."

Nightwing smiled at her. "You are right, whatever will we do?"

Raven let out a sigh, "I guess we can also get Batman to plan the missions. Clearly we aren't doing a good enough job."

The room grew oddly silent and Red Robin's eyes grew wide awake.

Raven nostrils flared, "Is that fear I smell in the air or subordinance? As an empath I always get those two mixed up."

The old Boy Wonder chuckled, "I think it's the latter." He cleared his throat. "Now, as I was saying: Each team will do its part to take find the suit. Warning, only one person wears the suit at a time, but it doesn't mean that each member is powerless without it."

"Your goal is to gather intel, and try to find the suit to destroy it. Do not engage unless necessary. Challenging and Starfire will be your point of contact. Nightwing and I will monitor the facility through security cameras. If something goes wrong we will quickly get you out." The demoness added.

"I will be grading you on strategy, while Starfire will be grading based on your ability to work as a team." Changeling added, "Now we will be heading out in an hour. Red Robin go drink your third cup of coffee."

Once the meeting ended, the Teen Titans form into their groups. Nightwing turned to his team, his voice low over the loud chatter behind them.

"Today's intel was interesting. There may have been activity happening right under our noses without us realizing." Nightwing warned.

"Happened, past tense. The activity was halted." Raven added with a raised an eyebrow towards Nightwing.

"This is Black Mask, Raven. He doesn't stop." Nightwing grunted.

"Wait, I thought you were going to say Zookeeper or Cheshire, but who is Black Mask?" Changeling asked, confusion lined on his face.

"Black Mask is a villain from...home." Nightwing pursed his lips. "He use to be a cosmetic mogul, but due to his bad business management he soon became bankrupt. He now runs a drug and gun cartel, and trust me when I say he is a much better businessman."

"But what do we do now? The message says the activity was halted. Stop it before it starts again? Do we know who provided us the information?' Starfire looked at Raven.

"Anonymous" Raven crossed her arms.

"Then we can get Cyborg to track it down. Cyborg has said there is always a backdoor to every system." Starfire added.

"He is like, busy with Justice League business." Changeling rolled his eyes. "I do not know if he has time for this. Last time I heard he is does all their programs, maintenance, and anything to keep that spaceship afloat, while also running missions."

The group grows quiet before all eyes turned to Raven. Raven looked around and sighed. Cyborg always had a soft spot for Raven. He would come running if Raven needed anything. Ever since Cyborg excepted Justice League's offer, she had been the main line to their old team mate.

"Fine I'll talk to him about it." Raven shook her head.

Starfire giggled. "Cyborg does have a soft spot for you, but don't we all?"

Raven grunted. "Is that why you guys make me do the bulk of the work?"

Changeling laughed, taking a moment to place a boop on Raven's nose. Raven scowled. "Yup, plus you are _sooo_ capable." Changeling said walking away. "I'm going to get the jet ready. Make sure no one eats my last avocado please?"

Starfire shrugged, and turned to Nightwing. "I'll go test the comms, now don't start obsessing over this intel okay Nightwing?"

"Too late." Raven muttered as Starfire floated away.

Nightwing frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why does everyone think I'm obsessed."

Raven shrugged, tapping on Nightwing's shoulder. "Because we maybe old Nightwing, but certain things don't change."

* * *

 **Author Note:** Please Read and Review. It is the only thing to keeps up my motivation. Thank you for taking the time out to read this! Ciao my loves!


	2. Chapter 2: Old Friends

**Author Note** : Thank you for the positive responses so far! I hope this chapter answers some questions. Others won't be answered until later chapters. Thank you and enjoy!

* * *

"Now that is a face I haven't seen in awhile!" Cyborg laughed, his voice a kind and warm.

Raven gave a small smile to her old friend, holding the videocom in her hand. It had been three years since Cyborg left for the Justice League. As sad as they were all to see him go, they all agreed Cyborg deserved it. He was smart, powerful and was better suited for big scale operations like the Justice League.

"Now, I hope you are calling to finally accept my offer?" Cyborg gave a big toothy grin, crossing his arms across his chest.

Raven rolled her eyes and leaned against her bedroom wall. It was a kind gesture to unofficially invite her to join the Justice League. An invitation that he extended to all Titans. However, Cyborg was more persistent when it came to her.

"Victor, I think we both know I will not be suited for the Justice League. " Raven held two fingers up at the camera. "One, my magic is...unorthodox. Two, I never received a formal invitation."

"I can always put in a good word in." Cyborg shrugged, "There should be other divisions, _unorthodox_ divisions, that should be jumping at the chance to have you on their team."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "I thought normal Justice League members are not supposed to know about Justice League Dark?"

"People work on the systems I design. By the fault, I get to know." Victory raised both his eyebrows in return. "Bigger question, how do you know about them young lady?"

Raven gave a mischievous. "That isn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"I guess it's better I don't know huh?" Cyborg shook his head in disbelief. Sometimes he was afraid of what information Raven had in her possession. "Now what do you need?"

"We had an anonymous tip from our intelligence network." Raven said pacing around her room. "I wanted to know if you can decode the system and figure out who sent it."

"Decode the anonymous feature? Why would you want to do that? I thought we implanted that feature for their own safety?" Cyborg asked as he leaned back into his chair, arms folded across his chest.

"Let's just say that this anonymous tip was out of the ordinary." Raven blew a stray hair out of her face. "Black Mask was dealing in Jump. Past tense, apparently it started and stopped without us knowing."

Cyborg stayed silent for moment, and she could almost watch the gears turn in his brain. He leaned toward the video camera and spoke. "That is unusual. The tip said all that?"

"It was inferred." She replied.

"Fine, I'll try to find who may have sent the message." Cyborg conceded, leaning back and cracking his knuckles, he started typing away. " So what is the timestamp on the message?"

"This sunday at 1:15 am." Raven stated, looking passed her friend.

She tuned out the sound of Cyborg's mechanical keyboard as she stared at Cyborg's background. The image was small in the videocom, but it was evident just how far away Cyborg was from them. The light of the galaxy shinned behind him. Stars she never seen, and constellation she couldn't even name floated by his window. His galaxy was colored in hues of red, purple, and dark blue. The empath took a deep breath to calm down the rush of emotions. Her friend was very far from home, maybe not even the same galaxy.

"Now, how are the Titans doing?" Cyborg cut through the silence.

"All Titan divisions are fine" She answered, snapping out of her stupor, then she added: "Flu season"

Cyborg chuckled. "I know what you mean. I swear when Flash gets sick, his germs travel faster than him. He gets over a cold easily, but not everyone is so lucky."

The empath watched the admiration and sense of familiarness in his eyes. The emotion of sadness masked with pride enveloped her. Cyborg had found a new family in a giant spaceship. "Well big guy, I'm happy you settled in fine." She said, her voice monotone.

"Trust me, once you get over the star struck, you settle in quick." Cyborg shrugged. "How is our blue boy?"

Raven frowned. "Richard is fine."

"You mean as fine as someone would be after looking at intelligence data until four am in the morning?" Cyborg shrugged as his eyes scanned over logs. "From the logs he has been signed onto the database until four am everyday, except last night. In which the computer promptly fell asleep around midnight."

Cyborg sighed and continued typing away. "At least he had some sleep last night."

"He has been growing a little...restless," the empath admitted, "But he has always been like this Cyborg."

"Yeah but he wasn't like that for about five years, and then he got progressively worse the last two." Cyborg stated before stopping for a moment to look at Raven's reaction.

Raven pinched the bridge of her nose. This is not a conversation she wanted to have, now or ever.

"Victor." She warned.

"Rae, I know you are the queen of sweeping things under the rug. " Cyborg pursed his lips as his eyes scan his computer off to the side. "But Dick is the King of holding things in until they explode."

Raven squeezed the bridge of her nose tighter, finding comfort in the pressure. "Is the decoding almost done?"

Cyborg frowned but he didn't want to push the issue further. It was something that was two years in the past, that still affected them now. In the end it was between Raven and Nightwing. He could only meddle so much.

"I get it, don't talk about it." He grumbled, returning to his screen. "Well I was able to find which phone it was sent through. The message was through user WJ389."

She tensed at the mention of that username. Each intelligence member was giving a specific sequence of numbers and letters, not one exactly the same. Cyborg paused and Raven's face became pale.

"Isn't that Sasha's?" Cyborg inquired, his voice low and cautious.

The demoness dropped her shoulders and gave a slow nod. "He was killed while doing work for Mad Mod. He was just supposed to guard a new line of clothing."

Mad Mod had said he turned in a new leaf after his fifth stint in prison. For a moment they believed him. He was no longer hypnotizing people, or trying to turn Jump City into his own London. Ironically, he had become a famous fashion designer, taking inspiration from the London era he worshipped. His 'Mod' style clothing becoming a hit among celebrities. However, Raven wasn't as trusting as the others. She had asked Sasha, who had just escaped the clutches of being Two Faces' lackey, to keep a watchful eye on Mad Mod. Sasha had agreed, and soon he was working as a security guard for one of Mad Mod's warehouses.

In the end Raven had every right to be cautious, Mod Man was smuggling drugs through the lining of his new fall line. However, it was the first time she wished she wasn't right. Before the Titans were able to close in, there was some internal struggle and Sasha lost his life...and his head.

That had to be three months ago. She swore she did exactly what Cyborg told her to do to make sure the application delete itself. Whoever got ahold of Sasha's phone shouldn't have been able to access the application. She bite her thumb and swore under her breath.

"This all doesn't make sense." Raven stated.

"Bird boy is going to have a field day." Cyborg grimaced cracking his knuckles.

"Can you find the location of Sasha's phone?" She asked, sitting down at the edge of her bed.

The Tin man nodded before typing away again. After a couple of minutes he spoke. "The last signal received happened to be in a landfill in Arkansas."

Cyborg pursed his lips. "Safe to say no one else will be able to get a hold of Sasha's phone."

The demoness let out a low groan. Whoever this person was had been miles ahead of them. She would be impressed if she wasn't severely annoyed.

"But I raise you the location where the last message was sent" Cyborg grinned.

Her old friend pressed the keyboard hard before something popped onto her videocom. Raven scanned the map and coordinates. Why in all places would the message be sent from there? It was the old crime alley district, which had become a new upper middle class area.

"Can you give me the blueprints of the building?" Raven asked, quickly getting up from her bed.

"Only because you asked me," the Tin man said, typing away.

"Thank you, Victor"

"Now, you can thank me by at least consider joining—" Cyborg was interrupted by his communicator went off.

"I bet that is Batman." She guessed.

Cyborg grabbed his communicator and took a quick look. He quickly frowned. "I wish you weren't right. You sure you don't have divination in your skill set?"

"You have galaxies to save, Victor." Raven said, opening her bedroom door.

Cyborg waved a hand dismissively " Yeah, yeah, now say hi to the green fella, miss universe, and bird boy for me why don't ya?" Cyborg asked leaning towards the monitor with a big toothy grin. "Stay safe okay?"

Raven rolled her eyes a smirk tugging at her lips."No promises."

Raven closed her video com and gave a heavy sigh. Nightwing wasn't going to be happy.

Nightwing sat at his office reading the Teen Titans' mission details. It was their first mission without them standing directly over their shoulder. He had his doubts, but Starfire had been convincing, bringing up old memories of their own unsupervised youth. He grunted at the thought of his childhood memories. They weren't like them. These Teen Titans were growing up in a different era, where every super villain had a superpower. It wasn't about stealing, and money anymore. It was about chaos and cheap thrills, money just a mean to create it.

He leaned back on his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Then there was Tim, who had just started crawling out of Batman's shadow. He was bright—extremely bright—too bright. Tim wasn't like him or Jason. Batman didn't have sorrow or anger to tap into. Tim just wanted to be Robin—it was his only driving goal. Not just any Robin, Red Robin, the Robin name now too taboo due to the untimely death of his predecessor.

For seven years he watched as the boy grew into a bo-staff expert, making up his lack of martial arts prowess with quick wit. He was much better than he ever was on the bo staff. Tim was even a better detective, soon to surpass even Batman. Seven years, and Tim had earned the mantle of Red Robin ten folds.

However, wanting to be Robin wasn't enough to be a hero. He wasn't a sidekick here. He had to start barking orders instead of accepting them. He had to start moving away from the shadow of Batman, grow into his own. Richard wasn't sure he could do that. He wasn't sure that's what Tim wanted.

He snapped out of his thoughts as the office door slid open. His eyes roamed to the entrance, expecting a Teen Titan to ask him about the mission. He watched as Raven walked towards his desk, communicator in hand. Raven slid onto his table top and placed her communicator on the wireless connector.

"Cyborg found something interesting. " Raven nodded towards his monitor.

Nightwing sat up, giving her a quizzical stare before connecting the phone to his monitor. A 3D view of a blueprint of an apartment complex popped on screen. Nightwing gave her a quick glance before she nodded to him to look further. He searched the bottom of the blueprint where the apartment complex address is shown. Nightwing stared up at Raven.

"Isn't this the building they just finished down on old crime alley?" Nightwing asked.

"This is where the message was sent to us." She said, sliding off the table. "Maybe someone became nostalgic."

"Who would think criminals got nostalgic over their old stomping grounds?" He shrugged, as he typed away at the computer.

"Gentrification, we all a little pissed about it."

The blue bird hummed and looked at the screen. "This apartment building just went on sale, and no one is listed as a buyer. These type of buildings usually have security guards to ward off thieves and the homeless."

"That limits the possibility of someone squatting there." Raven frowned.

"Maybe one of the security guards? Maybe this is a message in good faith? One of your people?" He asked, rubbing in chin in thought.

There was the subtle downcast of Raven's eyes. "Doubtful, they used Sasha's phone."

His eyes went wide in realization. Sasha has been dead for months. No one should have been able to access the app on his phone. It should have deleted as soon as they learned about his death. Nightwing watched as the empath balled her fist and the energy crackled in the room. On the surface she looked calmed and composed. He knew her all too well, the little quirks in her posture and the fine lines her face showed she was hiding the raging storm in her heart.

Sasha was a sore spot for Raven. They promised to protect them for being their eyes and ears of the underground. Sasha had been the only death since the intelligence network conception, but one was enough. To Raven, she had broken her promise.

He took a big breath before speaking. "Do you think they are connected to Sasha's death?"

The demoness looked at him, snapping the energy back into her fingertips. She enveloped herself in her cloak before speaking. "Mad Mod was smuggling drugs for someone, and we never figured out who."

Nightwing pursed his lips. "Black Mask." He shook his head. "This isn't good Raven."

"You tell me." The demoness said her voice heavy sarcasm.

He closed the building blueprint and grabbed the empath's communicator. Standing up from his seat, he walked to Raven, grabbing her hand from under her cloak. "I will talk to the others. If this has been going on right under our noses for a long time, we have to move quickly to catch the culprit. I fear they may be one step ahead of us."

"Several, they are _several_ steps ahead." The empath said her eyes dropping to their conjoined hands. She watched as his thumbs rubbed small circles on her hands. The feeling was too familiar, and she quickly snatched her hand away, slowly placing it back within her cloak.

The old Boy Wonder opened and closed his hand several times before placing it back to his side. He outstretched his hand toward her, her communicator in hand. She gingerly took it. "I will leave the Wildebeest mission to you."

"You are going to the building." She stated.

He nodded in return. "Someone has to go before the trail becomes cold."

Raven tilted her head and frowned. He noticed it was the same stare she gave him when she was trying to figure him out. Tried to find the Richard Grayson hiding in the depths of the Nightwing persona. For a moment he sees her blue eyes in the same shade of purple from years ago. His breath hitched and he quickly looked away.

"Richard, is this because this is from your past?" She asked sliding off his desk and taking a step closer.

"No." Nightwing protested, but his voice betrayed him.

"What was the last time you talked to your father?" She questioned and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Richard frowned. Father was a strong word. Even if time had smoothed their relationship. There was still bitterness between them. Richard was the one who left Gotham. Batman forgave him for leaving, but somehow Richard felt he could never forgave him for not being there. He wasn't there to guide Jason from the mistakes he had made during his time as Robin. Richard set an example, and soon Jason followed that example—walking out the Batman's wing and into the arms of death.

Even after Tim had calmed the old man. Their relationship wasn't quite the same. Richard wondered if Bruce partially blamed him for Jason. Bruce would never admit such a thing, but one thing was for sure, Richard still blamed himself. Bruce had found some type of closure, however small it was. Richard hadn't, and the inability to forgive himself wedge something in between them.

So now Richard rarely called, and Bruce rarely answered. After almost a decade it was considered an improvement, and he was content with it. The last time they talked is when Tim Drake had joined the Teen Titans. That had to be more than a year ago.

"Black Mask is Batman's villain. He may have details on what is going on." Raven said, gripping onto his shoulder.

Richard shook his head his hand encasing her clenched hand on his shoulder. "We need to find if this is really connected to Black Mask. This is our city Raven, _we_ will protect it."

The empath closed her eyes, and pulled away from him. Her shoulders slumped as a sign of resignation. She had decided not to fight him on this, which Nightwing let out of breath of relief. He had little energy to fight.

"Richard, please be careful." She said heading to the through to leave.

He watched her go, before sitting on the edge of his table top. As he gathered his thoughts he couldn't help but feel bested. Black Mask may have been working Jump City much longer than he had thought. Maybe even _years._ Nightwing clenched and unclenched his hand, a smile slowly forming on his lips.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

 **Author Note:** If you can take the time to read and review that be great. This is edited best of my capability but mistakes are bound to happen.

There will be about two major plots happening in the same time. One will conclude sooner than the other. Depending on how this goes, this may end up as a trilogy. This will be a bit of a love triangle story, so I'm warning now if it isn't your cup of tea. I'm sorry :(


	3. Chapter 3: Old Crime Alley

**Author Note:** This story isn't dead, I just have a lot going on in life. This is self edited, so if you see any mistakes, please feel free to correct me. I will try to update both my ongoing stories regularly.

* * *

Saying the neighborhood had changed would be an understatement. What was once rundown building, old delis, pawn shops, and liquor stores, were now artisan bakeries, coffee shops and art galleries. The streets were hustling with young professionals that now filled the upper middle class of Jump City. Dick standing in his well tailored suit, and said artisan coffee in his hand, fit into that category.

Well, as much as he could before people recognized he was Dick Grayson, eldest son of Bruce Wayne. Technically he wasn't Bruce's biological son, but somehow the word 'adopted' had disappeared from every headline his name graced over the years.

He walked up to the corner of Lexington and 3rd street, staring at the large towering building. It was modern look, with large windows, boasting luxury accommodations. When he researched a little further after Raven gave him the address, he found the prices almost laughable. He may have been a Wayne, having deep pocket but he was also trained to be a businessman. Luxury apartments too far above the area's median income was bad business practice. No wonder no one was rushing to buy.

He walked to the leasing office attached the building. Admittedly he was greeted with an empty reception desk. He took a quick look around and noticed empty offices. There was a small bell on top of the reception desk, and Dick gave it a small tap to call for anyone's attention. There was a small thud, followed by a groan as a woman rose from the desk. Why she was doing under the desk Dick wasn't sure.

She didn't look at him, opting to keep her eyes glued to the counter as she rubbed her head solemnly. "Robles Building Management, how can I help you?"

"I would like to see an apartment." Dick said thick with charm.

The woman rolled her eyes as she pressed the bump on her head. She didn't look up, clearly not charmed, before sliding an application across the desk. "Please fill out this application. We will also need two month worth of your most recent paycheck and three references."

"Shouldn't I have a look at the apartments first?" Dick asked kindly, leaning against the desk, and giving his best smile.

"Look these apartments are expensive, I would suggest you don't buy here." She said exasperated, her voice slightly raspy as she applied pressure to her bump. "Every applicant so far wasn't able to afford it."

"I think I can afford it." Dick slide his Gotham City ID into her field of vision.

First there was a blank stare before there was a look of recognition. She stared at the ID a few seconds longer before staring at Dick. Her hands quickly snatched away from the growing bump on her head. Dick would say she looked star shocked. Raven would have corrected him, saying the bump on her head was finally getting to her.

"Sorry Mr. Grayson. Let me show you around right away." He watched as she shot up from her seat as fast as humanly possible. She quickly disappeared to the back office.

As the woman ran off to the back, he took a moment to scan the area. So far he had watched only one security guard pass by the offices glass door throughout that whole exchange. He looked through the long corridor, at the end there was a sign: "Video Monitoring". As suspected, the building have video surveillance, however, was anyone actually watching them?

He turned around when he heard footsteps. The woman stood behind, skeleton key at hand. Dick gave her his best charming smile.

"Let me re-introduce myself" She gave a nervous laugh. "My name is Monica, I'm the building manager."

Monica extended her hand and Dick gave a firm handshake. "My name is Dick Grayson."

"What brings you to the neighborhood Mr. Grayson?" She asked.

"I always split my time between Gotham and Jump City. I thought it was about time I bought a residence here."

"Is this your first apartment in Jump City?" Monica looked at him confused.

It was no secret that Dick Grayson traveled a lot. Gotham and Jump City were frequent stops for the Wayne heir. Why he had chosen a once crime ridden city was a mystery to some. One would think he done with the crime in Gotham.

Dick had to give her a genuine smile at that question. Technically it was the first apartment for Dick Grayson. "Between you and I, Monica, it is and isn't my first apartment in Jump. When I am here business or pleasure, hotels get can feel a little _claustrophobic_. Let's just say it _may_ be the first public one." Dick winked.

Bruce told him that always go in between a lie and the truth. It was much easier that way.

He watched as Monica's eyes widen. "Of course Mr. Grayson, is there anything specific you are looking for?" She said starting to walk out the front door.

"Yes, I was looking for something private, big, and maybe has a guest room." Dick answered thoughtfully. What would a criminal with big pockets like? "Maybe something with a good view over the city. Also something I can easily access without too much trouble, if you understand? "

"Ofcourse." Monica nodded. "We do have a penthouse with a fantastic view over the ocean." Monica said, pressing the building's elevator call button. "We also have some one and two bedroom layouts, that are close to the west wing elevator. They are right off the elevator and fire exit in the corner, so it be difficult to spot you."

Dick smiled as they walked into the elevator. "Thank you for understanding. Maybe start at the penthouse and maybe work our way down?"

"Of course Mr. Grayson." Monica scanned her keycard before pressing the top floor button "The Penthouse suite is only accessible by keycard. You must scan your keycard before pressing the floor button."

He subjected that information into memory. "Before you mentioned you haven't had many eligible people for the apartment building?"

Monica went rigid. "Yes we only gone on sale for about four months. We had a couple of applicants but-" Monica pursed her lips and said not much more.

"Hey, I'm a businessman. I think I will understand."

"Due to delay in construction, and luxury amenities, the apartments are priced far above the normal means of residents here. Also the down payment being double the rent." Monica let out a small sigh. "It will take time for us to sell the apartments."

"So you saying, no heir to some big corporation has stepped in to buy an apartment?" Dick gave a small chuckle.

Monica body loosen and she gave a small smile. "You may be the first buyer, Mr. Grayson. We have had some promising candidates though. "

"Oh really there is more than one person with deep pockets in the city?" Dick asked.

Monica let out a laugh. "There was a gentlemen looking to buy something just as secluded as you, however, his suit wasn't as well tailored as yours."

"Armani happens to be my adopted father's favorite." Dick said adjusting the button on his suit. Now he was getting the information he wanted out of her.

"Does Bruce Wayne visit you often?" Monica asked, her eyes shining with curiosity and a sickly sense of wonder. She was more enamored by Bruce than him. He could have guessed, she looked between their age groups.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slowly opened. Dick stepped out to the penthouse floor, pressing his arm against the doors elevator door.

"Maybe. If I buy, maybe you'll find out?" Dick laid on the charm, his voice lowering an octave. "Now why don't you show me around?"

* * *

"Sometimes I really hate flying." Zachary muttered under his breath.

"I think it's because you get motion sickness." Kid Devil said, pulling a piece of candy from his pocket. "Here, take a ginger candy."

Zachary frowned in repulsion. Ginger wasn't the top of the candy food chain. It was probably right down there along with black licorice.

"It helps." Kid Devil outstretched his hand further.

Zachary gingerly took it. "Ugh, it just so crowded." Zachary sneered. "Can't half of these guys fly?"

"Yeah, but not everyone can fly undetected." Changeling chimed in, challenging the magician. "Don't _you_ know a cloaking spell."

"I can't affect people." Zachary popped the ginger candy in his mouth and wrapped his arms across his chest. "Unless you want invisible clothes. We can walk there stark naked. Also thanks for the remainder of my shortcomings."

Changeling smiled. "Then stop your whining and re-buckle your seat. We should be there in three minutes."

"Isn't it cool that we have an invisible jet?" Blue Beetle said turning to Red Robin, watching the boy type away on his laptop.

"They use the same technology as some of the Justice League jets." Red Robin mentioned, then added thoughtfully. "Although this jet is an older model."

"Old, but still good." Changeling challenged. "Not everyone got Justice League money."

"Cyborg built this for us not to long ago." Starfire called behind her, sitting at the pilot seat. She gave a warm laugh, "Oh, the adventures we had."

"I can feel your nostalgia from a mile away." Raven said dryly, seating on the co-pilot seat.

"Can't blame her, everytime we take the plan out, it reminds me of Cyborg." Changeling sighed, leaning a cheek against his hand.

Cyborg and Changeling were as thick as thieves back in the day. They still tried to keep in contact but it wasn't the same. Even though the Tinman was off doing bigger and better things, there was still an emptiness. They haven't recruited a fifth member even after two years.

"How is the big fella anyways?" Changeling asked Raven.

"Told me to say hi to Miss Universe, and Green boy." She answered, checking their navigation.

"I guess he saw the beauty pageant." The Alien said sheepishly. "I didn't expect to win. I joined out of whim"

"Skies above the competition, Star" Changeling laughed.

"We are here." Raven mentioned, and turned to Starfire. "Stay above the cloud, and maintain elevation."

Unbuckling herself from the seat, she walked in front of the Teen Titans. "Everyone has their communicators?" Raven asked.

Changeling touched his ear and spoke. "Testing one, two, three."

Everyone cringed at the static and booming sound in their ear. Wonder Girl held her head, her hearing a little more sensitive than most.

"Can we lower it down maybe a smidge?" Wonder Girl asked.

"Haha, sorry" Changeling turned down the dial. "Better?"

Wonder Girl gave a thumbs up.

"Now, everyone remember their entrance points?" Raven watched as they nodded. "Good, now remember _listen_ to each other. You are here to destroy the Wildebeest suit. Do not try to engage whoever is wearing the suit, or their members unless necessary. If either of us see it getting too hot, I will pull you out."

"I thought we were on your own?" Static Shock inquired.

"To some degree." Raven answered, "Everyone needs help sometimes. This may be your first mission without us, but don't show off. Showing off can lead to unforeseen circumstances."

"Plus Raven is super hard to impress." Changeling mentioned with a smile. "Now, good luck."

Changeling opened the airplane door. "Team Blue"

Team Blue stepped off and soon Team Gold was next. As the last Teen Titan stepped out the door, the Titans looked at each other. This was Teen Titans first mission, but it was also the first time they had to let the Teen Titans out on their own.

"They are going to be alright, right?" Changeling inquired.

"Some of us were far younger than this on our first mission." Starfire assured.

"They are going to be okay." Raven pursed her lips, hoping for the best.

* * *

The penthouse was nice, extremely spacious decorated in white. The whole floor was the apartment, and it had a great view of the city. There was no close enough buildings of similar height, so no easy vantage point. From the west wing, off at the distance, one could see the Teen Tower. It was high profile, a little too high profile. This person was hiding under their nose for _months,_ this was too showy.

Monica watched Dick's line of sight. "Yes the Titan Tower. All rooms overlooking the tower has a slight mark-up. It's a prime real estate feature."

"I wonder if it makes them feel safe?" Dick muttered, walking around the apartment. He walked into the large kitchen. He saw no signs of fingerprint, noticing everything was wiped clean recently. At least the countertops were gray granite. Raven loved gray granite.

"Ah yes, that is real polished granite. The apartment is also equipped with an electric stove, and wine bar." Monica boasted, "Do you cook often Mr. Grayson?"

"I have a butler do that for me." Dick said stone cold and when Monica's face fell he chuckled. "Yes, I do some cooking, when I have the time. I have friends with insatiable appetites and are unsavvy in the kitchen. The last two years I learned to cater to their taste."

"How noble of you." Monica smiled, and Dick watched from her body language how he sparked her interest. "Here I thought you were used to people catering to you."

"To some degree." Dick walked towards Monica. "I'm starting to think you lumping me into a type, Monica."

Monica became rigid, "I-I, I didn't mean to imply Mr. Grayson"

"No, I understand." He nodded, "You are trying to gauge what I might need."

She nodded in agreement.

"Now, as a high profile client what I really need is seclusion. Afraid of paparazzi knocking at my door in case I have-" Dick lowered his voice an octave, " _guest_."

She flushed. "Well we do have security cameras surrounding the penthouse entrance, and the rest of the building. We are hiring more security guards and 24 hour surveillance."

Now 24 hour surveillance may have been a little excessive. Something may have happened recently to warranted that need. Dick leaned against the island. "Now I highly doubt you foresaw me buying an apartment." Dick raised an eyebrow. "Why the increase in security?"

Monica flushed brighter, knowing that she may have delved too much information. "This used to be old crime alley. We had a break in not too long ago. Nothing was stolen, it seemed the security guard may have scared him off. However, we had one potential buyer back off the deal because of the lack of security."

Dick raised an eyebrow. Why someone would break into a empty apartment? There was no residents, nothing that they could potentially steal. Something wasn't quite adding up. There had to be something fishy with this other 'deep pocket' buyer Monica had mentioned.

"Well, why don't you show me other apartments, Monica?" He walked to the front door and opened the front door. "After you."

The rest of the rooms were not as glamorous as the penthouse, but more to his taste. They were spacious, with easy entrances and exits. The security was subpar, and had only counted one security guard on duty for a fourteen story building. Apparently the building had cleaners, that cleaned everyday to make sure the apartments were kept showroom ready. All marks on anyone being there were erased.

It was a perfect place to get in, hide something, then quickly get out. As much as he looked around, for a clue or anything hiding, as Monica raved on about the apartments amenities, he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Is there any apartment that piqued your interest Mr. Grayson?" The building manager asked as they took the elevator down to the lobby floor.

"The penthouse seems like a good choice." Dick placed his hand inside his tailored pants, stepping out the elevator doors. "I think I'll like to buy it today."

Monica turned to him in surprised. "Buy? Are you sure you do not want to lease?"

"I'm sure." Dick nodded, walking to the building management office. "I'll like to start the paperwork."

"Yes, please give me a moment." Monica turned around and promptly disappeared into the back room.

Hearing her footsteps echo further away, he took a sharp turn to the long corridor. At the video surveillance door, he pressed his ear against it. There was no rustling, or breathing on the other side. He slowly opened the door to find no one checking the monitors, as suspected.

Dick took a quick look behind him before slowly closing the door, and sitting at the monitor desk. He quickly stuck a memory stick on the usb port. The screen quickly turned black, and a password typed in, unlocking the computer. He muttered a quick thank you to Cyborg.

He quickly pulled out the memory stick placing in another, opening up the computer's video files. They have apparently kept their surveillance up from the last two months. As much as he hoped there was data further back, this had to do. He dragged the video surveillance, and waited as it uploaded.

"Mr. Grayson?" Monica's voice echoed.

"Darn." The ex-Boy Wonder muttered under his breath. He watched as the final file uploaded. Quickly pulling out his memory stick he opened the door slowly, and locked it behind him so it made no sound. He then made a show of opening the door, with loud creek.

"Oh" He exclaimed loudly, closing the door. "This isn't the bathroom."

He walked down the corridor and turned the corner to see Monica at the reception desk.

"Looking for the bathroom Mr. Grayson?"

"Yeah, I'm not too good at navigating." Dick faked a smile of embarrassment. "You know growing up in a mansion, every door was either a bedroom or a bathroom, hard to tell which until you open the door." He gave a fake nervous laugh.

Monica smiled at him. "Here is the application, and I assume you have the down payment."

"Actually in the short time you were out I was thinking." Dick slide back the application, and he watched as Monica's smile faltered. "Did this building allocate 20% of it's housing to low income families?"

"We didn't apply for the city credit for new residential buildings." Monica pursed her lips.

"Well, you know how us Wayne's are philanthropist." Dick smiled, pulling out his card from his jacket. "I think I would like to buy this building. The _whole_ building. I plan to allocate about 40% to 50% of the apartments to low income families, while the rest goes to community median income families."

Dick slide his business card on the countertop. "Let's talk details. "

Almost on queue his cellphone rang. Stepping away from the counter, he reached his hand into his pocket, muttering a small 'excuse me' towards Monica. This was his personal phone, and he watched 'Rachel Roth' name blink on his screen.

"I'll have to take this " Dick slide to answer the phone. "Hello darling."

There was silence at the other end, and he smiled in amusement. Catching Raven off guard was a treat.

"I believe you haven't called that me in years, friend Dick." Starfire voice cooed on the other side.

Dick stuttered a breath, stunned and embarrassed.

"We have an issue here." Starfire said, her voice lowering as she spoke in code. "I think your dog is having separation anxiety. Your pet blue bird also flew out of the cage, we trying to hustle her back."

 _We lost communication with the Teen Titans. Raven is searching for them, but we can't communicate with her either._

Dick look back at Monica, and watched her curious face. "My pet sitter." Dick explained with a smile before returning back to his conversation, "Ah, tell Scruffy to wait there for me. Remember tell him how good of a boy he is."

 _I'm heading out. Try to restore communication._

"Ofcourse pumpkin." Starfire gave a warm and hearty laugh, before promptly hanging up.

"You call your pet sitter darling?" Monica said lined in repulsion. In her defense it did sound like he was coming on to one of his employees.

"She happens to be my girlfriend's best friend. She was using her phone." Dick explained, placing his phone back into his pocket.

He pressed his finger on his lips and winked. "Keep that first part a secret? She may be dating me, but she doesn't like the attention."

Monica shook her head, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Ofcourse" She muttered.

There was a slight blush that reached her chest. It was a telltale sign that someone was hiding their embarrassment. He guessed, in a short time she had become interested in him. Dick mentally smacked himself. He may have been a little too impish with his flirting. He gave a shy smile in return, almost as an apology for leading her on. There was just no way.

Not when his heart was occupied by someone else. He could still remember her soft silky strands through his fingers, each strand that slipped through a different hue of purple and blue. Hear the soft whispers of her sleeping breath in his dreams and see the darkness of her blue eyes in his nightmares. He had been lying through his teeth when he said Rachel Roth was his girlfriend. Rachel Roth was just an identity, the girl behind the name, Raven, hadn't been anything more than a friend for two years. He was a stubborn man for still wanting something much more than friendship.

He tried to not let his smile physically falter when the overbearing feeling of foolishness overtook him. He been holding the weight of their past relationship by himself for far too long, Raven stopping long ago, way before they called it quits.

"Call that number to get ahold of my secretary." Dick said walking out the door.

He needed to get to his team quickly.

* * *

 **Author Note:** I really enjoy flirty Dick Grayson, laying that charm thick. Next chapter we will see the time between Teen Titans entering the facility, and Nightwing getting Starfire's phone call. I will try to write longer chapters. There a lot of story telling I am going to try to go through. The story may be split into three parts instead of two.

Thank you all who have waited so patiently for the sequel and read the prequel. I honestly surprised how many of you really liked Leading the Blind! I still think it's trash! Haha.


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